Friday, November 22, 2019
Vol. 79, No. 47
$1
SERVING PLAINVIEW, HICKSVILLE, AND LEVITTOWN
3rd PLACE WINNERS
Apprentice challenge helps students in business world BY GARY SIMEONE
The Hicksville High School Marching Band won third place in the New York State Field Band Conference Championships in Syracuse. See page 9
Musical performances planned
Town of Oyster Bay’s Department of Community and Youth Services will be offering free musical performances during the month of December 2019 at local libraries throughout the Town to kick-off the 20192020 Distinguished Artists Concert Series, which will continue to run monthly through May 2020. “The Town’s Distinguished Artists Concert
Series has proven to be one of our most popular and enduring programs, as residents flock from all across the Town to see the free musical and dance performances scheduled each month for the enjoyment of our residents,” said Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino. “I invite residents to take advantage of these wonderful performances offered by the Town for free at local
libraries.” Upcoming performances for December 2019 include: Breakdown – A Tribute to the Music of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on Sunday, December 1, 2019 at 2 p.m. in the Bethpage Public Library. Copperline – A Tribute to the Music of James Taylor on Saturday, DecemSee page 6
Approximately 250 students from area high schools participated in the annual ‘Apprentice Challenge’ on Friday November 15 at Adelphi University. The competition, which is in its thirteenth year, teaches local high school students how to turn their ideas into a successful business model. This year, the school partnered with Geico Careers in Woodbury. Students formed into teams and collaborated with each other on ideas on creating an overall strategy and marketing plan on how to best utilize the do-not-disturb feature on their cell phone while driving. They had to focus on the marketing strategies of product price placement and promotion in order to win over a panel of judges. Michael Wentz, a director of digital marketing at Adelphi and adjunct professor in the Marketing Department, said it was his fifth year of being a judge in the competition. “This is a wonderful event because it gives a high school students hands-on experience working with real world companies solving real world challenges,” said Wentz. “Every year is a different sponsor with different challenges. Seeing the ideas generated from students who are placed in groups comprising of multiple schools impresses me year after year. This event gives me the opportunity to see these future business leaders in action.” Some of the high schools involved in the competition included Plainview-JFK Jericho High School, Her-
ricks High School, New Hyde Park Memorial, Plainedge Syosset High School, Wantagh High School and Mineola High School. Another judge, Karen Parish Autry, an associate director of employer relations, said that this has been a signature event at Adelphi for a number of years. “The Apprentice Challenge gives high school students an opportunity to learn professionalism and key marketing techniques from alumni that have succeeded in the business world,” said Autry. “This event helps students learn how to work together in teams and collaborate and understand what it takes to come up with a winning marketing plan. It also gives students a chance to see what will be expected of them on a college level when they are assigned group projects.” The competition ran all day from early morning to the afternoon, and at the end, the judges awarded team #7, which included two Plainview-JFK students, with the final award. The two students, senior Zoe Rodriguez and junior Jessica Sarubbi, helped to come up with a marketing campaign for people to utilize their cell phone’s do-not-disturb feature while driving. “The whole event was a great experience and I can take what I learned from it and apply it into my high school business classes,” said Rodriguez. “One of the best parts was getting to formulate a strategy and meeting and collaborating with kids from other schools.” See page 6
A night of service and scholars PAGE 16 Seniors enjoy dinner and the arts PAGE 17